A Debt Repaid
by Clinically Insane
Summary: Pyro and Gambit are out of commission for a little while, Amanda is tired of Kurt's beating around the bush, Wanda is trying to plan her wedding, Kurt decides to call in the favor Remy owes him and Nick Fury pays Logan a visit about X23. Complete!
1. In Which Gambit and Pyro Get Cold Feet

Chapter 1: In Which Gambit and John Get Cold Feet

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Men or Bayville or the Institue pitiful sigh

7 am.  
  
Monday morning.  
  
Winter Break.  
  
Nuff said!  
  
---  
  
"Gambit?!-C'mon, mate, get up!" yelled Py.  
  
"Non!" said Remy as he held his pillow over his head, "It be too damn early!"  
  
"Is Gambit not awake yet?" asked Colossus as he walked into Remy's room.  
  
"Oh, he's awake, Petey, he just doesn't want to get up!" said a rather fired up Py (but then again when is that not normal?).  
  
"We must have him dressed before Magneto sends Sabertooth to get him!" said Piotr urgently.  
  
"Too late," came a growl from the doorway.  
  
"Merde!" thought Remy.  
  
---  
  
Meanwhile at the same time over at the Institute-  
  
"Damn it, Rogue!" swore Kitty, "Like Mr. Logan's gonna be here any minute and you're like still in bed!"  
  
"Relax, Kitty," said Rogue pulling her pillow around her head, "Ah've got 10-15 minutes at the least."  
  
"How do you figure?" asked Kitty who was now convinced her roommate had received a severe blow to the head.  
  
"Ah disabled the showerhead in his bathroom, replaced his shavin' cream with whipped cream and took the blade out of his razor. If that doesn't slow him down Ah don't know what will."  
  
BAM!-The door flew open.  
  
"Stripes, get yer ass outta bed!" shouted Logan.  
  
"Shit!" Rogue thought to herself.  
  
---  
  
Approx. 20 minutes later both teams met in a wooded area on top of a frozen pond. It seemed as good a place as any. There was just one problem  
  
"Is there a problem, Gambit?" Magneto glared at his charge.  
  
You see Gambit had never been too keen on water (How Much Embarrassment Can 2 Mutants take? ref) and so he opted to watch from atop a hill overlooking the pond.  
  
"Non, you hommies go 'head. Remy's gonna stay wid de car." Gambit motioned over his shoulder.  
  
"We didn't take a car-_Remy_," growled Sabertooth.  
  
"Oh right, Remy knew dat, well den-"  
  
"Uh, mate?" St. John interrupted.  
  
"Oui?"  
  
"Think ya could get down 'ere sometime before me nuts freeze and crack off?!"  
  
"Uh-" Remy paused.  
  
"Yes, Gambit, won't you join us before nightfall?" Magneto sarcastically inquired.  
  
Gambit sighed. This was your classical, run of the mill "no win" situation. He could see it a mile away, but decided to prolong the inevitable as long as possible.  
  
Reluctantly, Remy made his way down the snow covered hill, which crunched loudly with every step he took as his boots sank into the snow. He looked at the ground and trudged down the hill with his hands in his trench coat pockets. The tails of the coat dragged behind him.  
  
He froze when he reached the edge of the pond and looked up pleadingly at both the Acolytes and the X-Men.  
  
"Damn it, Gambit, stop actin' liahke a toddler and get out heah so Ah can kick yer ass an' go back ta be already!" yelled Rogue.  
  
"Uh, Cher, Remy don' tink dis such a good idea," insisted Gambit.  
  
"I don't care if 'Remy tink dis part II o' Henry de IV'," growled Wolverine, "get on the ice, Gumbo."  
  
Gambit took one step out onto the ice and-  
  
slip!  
  
"Whoa!"  
  
Skiiiiiiid!  
  
You guessed it. Gambit took one step out onto the ice, slipped, fell and skidded across on his ass.  
  
-I agree, an amusing image, up until the aftermath-  
  
"Slow down, Mate!"  
  
"Comrade, what are you doing?!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  
  
Gambit took both the Colossus and St. John out.  
  
The trio lay on the ice for a few seconds, then John started to panic-  
  
"Ahhhh, COLD!" St. John released a huge fiery blast onto the surface of the ice.  
  
crack-crack-crack-crack  
  
KRAK!  
  
SPLASH!  
  
Gambit, St. John and Colossus crashed through the ice and disappeared into the frigid waters below.


	2. Mother Russia!

Chapter 2: Mother Russia!  
  
"Amanda, please!" Kurt had begun to back up on the couch in her living room.  
  
"Kurt, my parents are a thousand miles away and they're going to be gone all weekend. They'll never know. And besides you promised!" Amanda finished in a dangerous tone.  
  
"I know, bu-" Kurt began.  
  
"Good, I'm glad we're on the same page," said Amanda as she nothing short of pinned Kurt to the cushions and unzipped his pants, "and take that stupid image inducer off!-It's just us."  
  
"Amanda, your parents don't like me and they don't even know ve're still seeing each other!-Von't it be difficult to explain blue hair all over ze living room?" asked Kurt still backing up on the couch.  
  
"I'll just tell them the dog's shedding again."  
  
"You don't have a dog!" insisted Kurt, who was now nearing the edge of the couch.  
  
"What does it matter I'll vacuum before they get back," said Amanda advancing even more.  
  
"But still I'm not sure about zis. I mean I-Whoa!"  
  
THUD!-Kurt fell off the end of the couch.  
  
"Ow," said Kurt propping himself up on his elbows.  
  
"OMG, are you ok?!" Amanda looked over the arm of the couch.  
  
"Ja, I guess," Kurt exhaled rubbing his head.  
  
"Great, then we can keep going," purred Amanda who looked as if she was about to leap off the couch and pounce on Kurt's chest.  
  
"VAIT!" Kurt made one last plea.  
  
"UGH!-What is it now?" Amanda was growing annoyed with Kurt's constant stalling.  
  
"I just don't know if I'm ready. I vant our first time to be special and-"  
  
Amanda gave an exasperated sigh, "You know what Kurt, maybe you should just leave."  
  
"But Amanda, I-"  
  
"Good-bye, Kurt." Amanda rose off the couch, walked to front door and opened it.  
  
Kurt pulled his pants up and strapped on his image inducer, then walked out of the house and onto the stone walkway. He turned around to say a heartfelt good-bye, but-  
  
SLAM!  
  
"Right then, ve'll talk later," Kurt turned and began his walk back to the Institute.  
  
---  
  
"Nhhhhh!" Remy came around slowly. His head was pounding and he was sweating like a pig.  
  
He was laying in a bed in a white room with bright light all around.  
  
"Is dis Heaven?" Remy thought to himself. Slowly his eyes adjusted to the light , although nothing could prepare him for the sight he beheld.  
  
A blue fuzzy blob slowly came into focus-Hank in a lab coat looking at a clipboard through small circular spectacles, which came slightly too far down his nose. And worse yet standing beside him was Wolverine with Rogue nowhere in sight-not good.  
  
"Merde," thought Remy, "dis be Hell!"  
  
"Good evening, Mr. LeBeau, fancy meeting you here again and I see you've brought a little friend to keep you company." said Hank looking up.  
  
"Huh?" Remy looked over to see St. John laying in the bed next to him, just starting to come around.  
  
"Mon Diu, where be Petey?!" Remy started to panic.  
  
"Crickey, you poms let 'im drown?!"  
  
"Easy, Piotr's fine." Hank attempted to calm the boys down, "I'm more worried about the two of you right now. You both had a mild case of hypothermia."  
  
"Ya, well we're fine now, mate," said John pushing the blankets off. He felt a draft then looked down to find himself clad in only a pair of boxers, "Whoa where are me clothes?!"  
  
Remy decided to look down too just to find himself in only boxers, "You hommies be sick!"  
  
"Gentlemen please, calm down," Hank cut in, "I'm going to have to ask you to stay here until you recover."  
  
"Recover?!" the boys looked at each other.  
  
"We're fine, Mate," John insisted.  
  
"Oui, we neva bin bett-ah-ah-AHCHOOO!" luckily Remy was able to grab a tissue off the nightstand before he shared a little too much with the entire room. Unfortunately, he was unable to control his powers and charged the Kleenex.  
  
Now normally this wouldn't have been an issue because Remy could just uncharged the Kleenex, but St. John sneezed right after him. This resulted in an explosion of flames all over the floor.  
  
"Merde!" yelped Remy.  
  
SKNIT!  
  
BAM!  
  
Wolverine punctured the fire extinguisher on the wall only to have it explode due to the pressure inside. It resulted in coating the entire room in a white substance with the same consistency as tapioca pudding.  
  
"Merde, Wolvie, tink befo' you act, non?!" said Gambit wiping off his face.  
  
"Well on the up side a hot shower might be the best thing for the two of you right now," said Hank wiping his white goopy glasses on the interior of his lab coat.  
  
"Must you turn everything into a positive experience?" Wolverine glared at Hank.  
  
Hank chose to ignore that comment and turned his attention back to the boys, "The showers are just down the-"  
  
"Fo' de las' time we don' need showers because we ain't si-" Remy would have finished only another sneeze came on.  
  
Fortunately, John was able to squelch it by diving forward and seizing Remy's nose. Unfortunately, John wound up splattering more white goo into Remy's face, not to mention in his hast to prevent another fire (a first in John's career, I'd like to add) he slipped on the white goop on the floor.  
  
As a result both boys landed in more white stuff on the floor.  
  
"Maybe we will take you up on that showa, Mate," said St. John looking up.  
  
"Good," said Hank, "down the hall to your left.  
  
Logan couldn't help but snicker as the boys slipped and fell again as the attempted to cross the threshold.  
  
Hank turned to Logan once he heard the showers turn on, "And with any luck a hot shower will make them drowsy.  
  
"Preachin' to the choir, Hank," commented Logan who had had all too much experience with a recuperating Remy and now with Pyro in the equation he was half tempted to see if there was any clorophorme (not sure if that's spelled right) in the storeroom.  
  
---  
  
Meanwhile the girls (Rogue and Wanda) had been forbidden to enter the medical lab on pain of death until the boys were out of quarantine. The last thing Hank needed was two more sick mutants on his hands.  
  
Feeling rather dejected the Rogue and Wanda headed back to the BoM's house and Kitty decided to tag along. The boys had gone out to their weekly Mickey-Dee's (McDonald's) and a movie, which left house completely to the girls.  
  
They began by playing video games for a while then headed up stairs to Wanda's room to relax before the boys got back.  
  
Wanda was on the bed flipping through a magazine, Rogue was in a beanbag chair ready The Last Unicorn and Kitty was standing in front of Wanda's bureau playing with her hair when something caught her eye. A small fuzzy box to be exact.  
  
"Hey, Wanda, like what's this?" asked Kitty picking up the box. She opened it, "Like OMG!"  
  
---  
  
Remy and John were once again reclining on the beds in the med lab after their showers and just as Hank predicted they were rather drowsy.  
  
Gambit was laying on his bed with his arms behind his head and his eyes shut-minding his own damn business for once-when he heard something...  
  
scratch...scratch...scratch, scratch, scratchscratchscratch!  
  
Gambit opened his eyes and looked over at Py who was for the time being very engaged in scratching his crotch lock a lotto ticket.  
  
Gambit sighed.  
  
"Homme, Remy know he gone regret askin' dis, but why you doin' dat?"  
  
"Because it's all starin' ta grow back, mate!" exclaimed John in dismay.  
  
"What de growin' back?" asked Remy rather alarmed.  
  
"Me hair from the wax job that crazy Sheila gave me (Girls Night Out ref.)!"  
  
"Remy was right. He does regret askin'- Merde, Remy hate when he be right sometimes," said Gambit closing his eyes again.  
  
Just then Piotr came in.  
  
"Petey, mate you're a live!" said John happily as he continued to scratch.  
  
Piotr shot Py a strange look, produced to necklaces from his pocket then said, "Magneto has sent me to give you these. As long as you where them they will bind your powers so you will not set anything else ablaze."  
  
"Sound like a workable plan," said Remy.  
  
"Ah'm in," said Py.  
  
After they put the necklaces on Remy and Py had to know.  
  
"Hey, Petey, how come you not sick like us?" asked Gambit.  
  
"Ya, you fell in too, you should be sick too." Py nothing short of pouted.  
  
Colossus looked at them like they both had three heads and said simply, "I am from Russia." Then he walked away. 


	3. Uncle Nick

Chapter 3: Uncle Nick  
  
AN: Sorry it took so long, but my father kept taking the power cord for my laptop because he left his at a hotel when he was on a business trip.  
  
Once Gambit and Pyro were asleep Logan headed up to the first floor to raid the refrigerator when he caught wind of something (literally).  
  
sniff-sniff  
  
It was her.  
  
Logan closed the refrigerator door and walked out onto the patio.  
  
sniff-sniff He was positive now.  
  
"Alright, kid, I know yer here. C'mon out." Logan crossed his arms and waited.  
  
There was a pause.  
  
Then the bushes along side the kitchen began to rustle and X23 crawled out and stood to face Wolverine.  
  
"That's better," said Wolverine looking down at his little clone, "I thought you were off communing with nature or something."  
  
"I was," snapped X23.  
  
"What drove you so far into civilization?" asked Logan.  
  
"That one-eyed dumb ass with Shield!" grumbled X23.  
  
"Nick Fury?"  
  
"Ya, that's him," she said.  
  
"How much of lead do you have?" asked Logan.  
  
Before X23 could answer choppers could be heard overhead.  
  
SKNIT!-X23 drew her claws.  
  
"Put those away! That's not how to deal with Fury, trust me," said Wolverine.  
  
"I can handle myself!" X23 insisted.  
  
"Look, kid, I've been dealing with guys like Fury a lot longer than you have," Logan began to go into a parental lecture when he was interrupted.  
  
"You gave us quite a chase, X23." said Fury walking off a chopper that just landed, "Now, come quietly or we'll shoot you down."  
  
All the helicopter's guns were aimed at X23.  
  
"Alright that's enough," said Logan scooping X23 up into his arms.  
  
"Hey," X23 started to squirm until Logan pinned her over his hip.  
  
"She's an X-Man now Fury, if you want her yer gonna have ta go through all of us." Wolverine growled, "starting with Xavier."  
  
"You do realize by protecting her you're forcing me to come after you too," Fury countered.  
  
"Ya, like that's news?" Logan rolled his eyes and looked X23, "Alright, Darlin', say 'good-bye' to Uncle Nick."  
  
"Good-bye, Uncle Nick," said X23 sweetly as both she and Wolverine gave Fury the finger with their claws. Then Logan carried her inside.  
  
"This is not-"  
  
SLAM!  
  
Fury was cut off by the kitchen door slamming.  
  
---  
  
"OMG! OMG! OMG! You're like marrying Pyro!" Kitty was literally bouncing around holding the box, which contained a sizable diamond ring.  
  
"SSSHHHHH! You're the only two who know so far. Don't tell any one."  
  
Rogue glanced over at Kitty than back at Wanda, "Got any super glue? Ah tried to duct tape he mouth shut once and it wasn't enough."  
  
"More importantly like what are you going to do when Magneto finds out?" Kitty stopped mid-bounce frozen with fear.  
  
"With any luck he won't find out until after the Apocalypse," said Wanda turning back to her magazine.  
  
Rogue and Kitty exchanged disapproving looks.  
  
"No really," said Rogue drolly, "what's yer plan."  
  
"Right now," said Wanda, "it doesn't exist yet. I figured John and I would hang from the bridge when we got to it."  
  
"Well then we like have to give you a bachlorette party with strippers and everything!" squealed Kitty.  
  
"No!" said Wanda firmly, "I appreciate the offer, but if you don't mind I'd like to keep this under wraps for as long as mutantly possible. I would like to have a wedding night in which St. John is in tact."  
  
"Duly noted," said Rogue, "so what are you planning for the wedding?"  
  
"Right now something quick and affordable," said Wanda pulling a huge plastic box out from underneath the bed. There must have at least 50 wedding magazines in it.  
  
The girls spent the next couple of hours flipping through magazines. Then Rogue and Kitty went back to the Institute.  
  
Once they had reached their room and had barricaded the door Rogue turned to Kitty with an evil glint in her eye, "Ah have an idea for Wanda can do for her weddin', but Ah need yer laptop and I can't tell you what it is until Ah get everything set up."  
  
"Sounds like a plan." said Kitty, "And I'll work on where they're going to live afterwards."  
  
"Uh, sure, Kitty you do that," said Rogue rolling her eyes as she accessed the internet.  
  
---  
  
Later that night after Gambit and Pyro had dinner Kurt decided to take a walk down to the med lab-you know "just for some exercise".  
  
Kurt backed into the room and closed the door making sure no one had followed him.  
  
"Well, if it ain't Creepy Crawly," said St. John looking up from one of Wanda's wedding magazines Kitty was kind enough to smuggle out of the BoM's house and bring to him.  
  
"It's Nightcrawler," Kurt glared at John.  
  
"You lost, homme?" Gambit looked up from his Playboy. More correctly Logan's Playboy, Remy swiped it when Logan went to raid the refrigerator.  
  
"No, I came to call in that favor," said Kurt not sure where to look (Girls Night Out ref).  
  
"Oh, Gambit gets now," said Remy shoving the porno mag under his pillow, "filly problems, non?"  
  
"Ja, how did you know?" asked a rather impressed but at the same time baffled Kurt.  
  
"Remy's been doin' dis a lot longa den you, pup. Now, tell Remy what happened."  
  
"Vell, alright..." and with that Kurt recounted his, rather embarrassing first attempt at sexual exploits with Amanda.  
  
---  
  
Meanwhile Logan was trying to put X23 to bed without much success.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked X23 critically eyeing Wolverine as he attempted to tuck her in for the second time.  
  
He decided it was best to talk her through this process of going to bed after she thought he was trying to choke her the first time and shredded the sheets. Things weren't going as well as he'd hoped this second time around either. She refused to retract her claws, but on the up side she wasn't using them. So, in the end progress was progress he figured for the time being.  
  
"I'm just tucking you in, alright?" said Logan as he pulled the covers up to her chin.  
  
X23 shot him an incredulous look.  
  
Logan sat down on the bed and sighed, "What now?"  
  
"Adults actually do this with children?!"  
  
"Yes, why?" Wolverine answered.  
  
"This is pointless!-This bed is too soft for starters and what's with the covers? It's not like I need them. I'd rather sleep on the floor anyway. Not to mention the fact I can put myself to bed."  
  
Logan rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Look kid, do me a favor and just play along for now, ok?"  
  
"Why?" asked X23.  
  
"Because if you don't Storm will be tucking you in tomorrow night, not me. And she'll read you a story and kiss you." Logan said as a tease.  
  
A look of pure, unadulterated horror passed over X23's face, "You're kidding!"  
  
"Uh, no I'm not." Logan said as he turned out the light and stood up.  
  
When he got to the door way he turned around and looked her dead in the eye, "I'll be in the next room. Come get me if you need something. Oh and no prowling the halls at night, no terrorizing anyone, no attacking anyone and no leaving the grounds without chaperone. Fury's probably not too far off. He doesn't give up that easy."  
  
X23 started to snarl.  
  
"I mean it!" growled Logan.  
  
"Fine," grumbled X23.  
  
"And put those away inside!"  
  
Reluctantly X23 retracted her claws and leaned back into the pillow.  
  
Logan shut the door and began to walk down the hall back to his own room-he froze mid stride.  
  
"Did I really just say 'And put those away inside!'?!" he thought to himself recounting the many times he had done some 'late night redecorating' with his own claws.  
  
He gave and exasperated sigh and thought, "Parenting sucks!"  
  
---  
  
Pyro was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face. As I'm sure you deduced, Kurt had just finished his tale of woe involving him and Amanda.  
  
Gambit sighed and covered his eyes with his hand, "Dis gonna take a lot a work, home. Go get a pen and paper, dis gonna take all o' Remy's expertise!"  
  
"Mate, I'm glad I'm not you," Py barely managed between sobs.  
  
"Tanks Johnny, yo faith in Remy be really reassuring," said Gambit sarcastically.  
  
"Right back," said Kurt popping up to his room for the appropriate supplies.  
  
BAMF!  
  
"Dis gonna take a month o' Sundays," groaned Remy as he sank into his pillow. 


	4. A Shopping Excursion

Chapter 4: A Shopping Excursion

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men.Kitty was miffed (To say the absolute least).It had been almost 48 hours since the Acolytes set up camp at the Institute and she and Colossus had yet to "properly enjoy" each other's company. But Kitty, being Kitty had a plan. All she had to do was time it right.She and Colossus were sitting on a couch in the foyer pretending to read, when in actuality they were playing footsie under the coffee table.Then it happened-SLAM!-The Kitchen door was thrown shut.They were back from training.POP!Kitty smiled. Logan just crack a beer. That meant he was spent-for now."Oh c'mon," said X23 bounding behind Logan, "Just one more time through- I'll even let you win this time!""Later, kid," said Logan in a somewhat winded tone. He took a swig of beer, "besides we have a danger room session.""What am I supposed to do 'till then?!" asked a rather dejected X23.Logan sighed. He'd only officially been a parent for a day and already it was cramping his style."I'll like take her for a while," said Kitty, "she needs to go to the mall.""Why?" X23 wrinkled her nose in disgust."Because you need clothes," Kitty informed her.Logan still looked a bit skeptical and who could blame him after his previous experience with Kitty's driving."I will drive," Piotr "volunteered" (It was all part of Kitty's master [more like disaster] plan)."Alright," Wolverine agreed pulling the keys out of his pocket, "but have her back in time for the danger room session and stop fer dinner.""No problem," Kitty assured him.Wolverine handed the keys to Piotr, then looked at X23, "No clawing, no kicking, no punching, no growling and no attacking anyone."X23 sighed and rolled her eyes, "fine.""C'mon," said Kitty hurriedly as she took X23 by the hand, "we're burning daylight!"BANG!-The front door was slammed shut as Kitty made a beeline for car dragging both Piotr and X23 behind her.Logan was left in the foyer drinking his beer. With his new free time he decided to go look at the porn mag under his mattress, only when he got there he found it missing-"NOOOOooooooooo!"(I don't know about you guys, but I'm hoping, for Remy's sake, Logan doesn't figure out who took it.)---5 minutes later the car stopped in front of the BoM's house."Ok, end of the line," said Kitty perkily."This isn't the mall," said X23."That's because I never said Petey and needed to go to the mall, just you do. So, you're going with Aunt Wanda, while Petey and I hang out here until you get back."X23 crossed her arms, arched an eyebrow and grinned wickedly, "You do realize this is going to cost you."Kitty looked at her a little in the dark, "What do you mean."X23's eye narrowed, "I grew up in top secret military facilities with 90% of the soldier population being men. I know exactly what 'hanging out' means and unless you want Wolverine to find out...""Alright, I like get it," said Kitty indignantly. She reached into her purse and pulled out her platinum card, "here.""Thank you," said X23 sweetly as she took the card from Kitty.Just then Wanda walked out of the house with Lance's car keys.Wanda and X23 sized each other up. When neither backed down, they both got into the jeep and drove off, leaving a rather confused Kitty and Piotr sitting in the driveway. But the confusion was only momentary, then Kitty ripped off her shirt and attacked Piotr where he sat in the driver's seat."Katya, no!" unfortunately Piotr's request fell on deaf ears.The car was knocked out of gear and rolled backward into a tree with a- CRASH!"Shit!" swore Kitty, "now we can't put the seat down. I guess we're just hafta move inside.""But what about the car?" asked Piotr."Later," said Kitty taking him by the hand."But..." Colossus continued to protest."I'm not wearing any underwear," said Kitty."The car is able to wait," said Piotr quickly as they headed toward the front door.---"Eww! I'm not going to put tongue there!" Kurt grimaced at Remy's direction.As I'm sure you can imagine the classes we're not going as smoothly as Gambit had hoped they would. It was going into the second day of the lesson and Kurt hadn't made nearly any progress.Remy was nearly at his wits end."Alright, look, jus' take dis an' look at all de pictures-don' even tink about readin' any articles-an' we'll go over it tomorrow." Remy handed Logan's porno to Kurt."Alright," sighed Kurt with a heavy heart.BAMF! He ported back to his room.Remy looked over at Py, "Mark, my words, Johnny, dat boy gonna wind up a priest!" (AU ref.)---Once at the mall Wanda and X23 parked in section T and then systematically went through the shops on the kiosk that would most likely suit a girl X23's age. They went everywhere it seemed. And they went in alphabetical order:Alloy American Eagle Arden B. Bebe Claire's Delias Gap J Crew JC Penny Limited Limited Too Marshal's Rue 21 WindsorWanda was barely able to keep up with X23 as she was single handedly dragged up and down the escalator more times than she cared to remember in and out of 14 stores. The only time Wanda could catch a break was when they were in a store and X23 was running the sales people on the floor ragged as she sent them scurrying after different sizes.Wanda rather enjoyed watching the sales people tripping over each other. One thing was for sure and that was X23's determination to ware out the tape on the back of the credit card she was using. Wanda would have enquired about it, but that would have involved walking over to the cash register and her feet already killed, so that was entirely out of the question.It was while Wanda was sitting on the side line that she noticed a figure in a trench coat (I know-I know it's a bit played out, but for the purposes of this story I'm using it-So there-HA!) following them around. At first she thought it was just the non stop battles between the X-Men and the Acolytes that was taking its toll on her. But after about the fifth store she saw the figure, she knew something was amiss.Well 14 stores and 10 trips to the car later the girls found themselves in the food court of mall with food from almost every vendor in front of them because up until that point X23 had only eaten army rations or anything she could catch in the woods. Needless to say X23 ate the lion's share of the food as Wanda looked on in amazement at how anything that small could eat so much.By the time they were done eating, Wanda sent X23 off to the ladies' room to clean up after the 4 BigMacs she managed to scarf down at the end.Once X23 was out of sight the figure in the trench coat sat down across from Wanda, "We need to talk."Wanda thought about hexing his ass clear out into the parking lot, but in the end decided against it, not wanting to attract too much attention-at the moment, "Who are you?" Wanda's eyes narrowed."I'm Nick Fury. I work for Shield. You are currently surrounded by 35 agents. We are here to take X23 into custody.""Why?" asked Wanda warily."Because she is the best military weapon every created. The engineering that went into her alone is over 4 billion. It would be a waste to let her live out a civilian life, not to mention how bored she would be with no new challenges. She'll be much happier once we take her back to base." Fury assured her."How can you say that? She hasn't even had a chance to experience what civilian life is like or for that matter having a real family," Wanda countered, "but tell me more about this organization...Shield, I believe you said.""Uh, yes," said Fury a little taken a back, but all the same he gave an over view of the organization and it history with Wolverine.When he finished Wanda leaned back in her chair and smiled slightly, "Fury, I have a proposition for you-a 2 for 1 deal if you will."Fury leaned forward, "I'm listening." 


	5. Remy to Rogue’s Rescue

Chapter 5: Remy to Rogue's Rescue  
  
When the trio returned from the "mall", X23 shoved all of her purchases into one big JC Penny bag and headed up to her room, while Logan had a little "conversation" with Kitty and Colossus.  
  
"What happened to the bumper?!" questioned Logan as he caught sight of the sizable dent in the bumper.  
  
"We like parked it, went shopping, had dinner, came back and it was like that," Kitty concocted quickly.  
  
"Did you file a report with security?" asked Logan.  
  
"Didn't think to do that, I'll go call them," said Kitty beating a hasty retreat.  
  
Logan looked at Piotr, "You let her drive, didn't you?"  
  
"Well..." Petey began, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Logan reassured him, "Half-Pint can be very persuasive."  
  
"Comrade, you have no idea," Piotr sighed as he handed the keys back to Wolverine.

---  
  
Well the Danger Room session went off without a hitch with both X23 and the Acolytes. By the time everyone hit the showers no one was happier than Wolverine. Not only did X23 have a great first run in the Danger Room, but it completely wore her out.  
  
Logan couldn't help but grin to himself as he walked down with the motionless body of X23 slung over his shoulder. One of her arms dangled down the length his back. Her hair was still wet from the shower and left a trail of wet dots down the length of the hallway.  
  
He put her down on the bed, pulled the covers over her and he leaned forward and lightly kissed her forehead. Then Logan got up and walked over to the door. He turned off the light and headed back to his room for the night.

---

Meanwhile, Gambit was feeling much better and decided to go for a walk. But Gambit, being Gambit had an ulterior motive. Armed with nothing except the clothes on his back and power restricting pendant Magneto designed he went in search of Rogue. For what he convinced himself was for the sake of science-  
  
Wait...guys, c'mon who are we bs-ing? In truth, that's just what Remy was going to say if someone walked in on them.  
  
That's right, Gambit had gone in search of Rogue to test if the power binding pendent was strong enough to cancel out her powers so he could work off some pent up tension after dealing with Hank for two days.  
  
"Cher?" Gambit called playfully.  
  
No answer.  
  
Gambit headed up stairs.  
  
"Chere?" he called as he nudged the door to Kitty and Rogue's room open with his staff.  
  
He found her sitting on her bed with Kitty's laptop idly suffering the web.  
  
"Cher," he called softly.  
  
Rogue looked up, "What do you want, Swamp Rat?"  
  
"Sheesh, Chere, Gambit tought you'd be happier to him den dis!" Remy pretended to take offense.  
  
"Ah'm sorry, Sugah. Ah'm just tired." Rogue said yawning.  
  
"What you be doin', Cher. Mebe Gambit can help, non?"  
  
"If Ah let ya help, ya hafta promise not ta tell anyone," Rogue said sternly.  
  
Remy held up his hand as though he were swearing an oath, "T'ieves honor."  
  
"Alriaht," Rogue sighed, "Ah'm lookin' fer a place where Pyro and Wanda can get married, but get a good deal on the whole thing at the same time. Any suggestions?"  
  
"Is dat all?" asked Gambit casually sauntering over to the bed.  
  
"Wait-you knew about the weddin?!" Rogue was surprised.  
  
"Who you tink helped Py pick out de ring?" asked Remy smugly.  
  
Rogue frowned, "Well if yer so smart then where do you propose they get married?"  
  
Gambit leaned over Rogue's shoulder and typed a few words into a search engine.  
  
"Oh mah Gawd, it's perfect!" Rogue gasped, "It's-"  
  
"De best place after N'Owlins!" said Remy.  
  
(You honestly didn't think I was going to disclose the location at this stage in the story, did you?!)  
  
"Ah've gotta hand it to ya, Sugah. You've out done yerself again." said Rogue stretching.  
  
"Is Roguey, still tired?" asked Gambit.  
  
"Yes," said Rogue yawning again, "Whahy?"  
  
"To tired fo'-" Remy trailed off as he dangled the pendent Magneto made in front of Rogue's nose.  
  
"Fiahne," Rogue sighed, "but yer on top this tiahme. Ah'm in no mood ta do all the work."  
  
"Gambit wouldn't have it any otha way, Cher," Remy smirked as he fastened the pendent around Rogue's neck.  
  
(Let's just give them some privacy)  
  
---  
  
The echo of a toilet flushing down the hall could be heard as Kurt staggered back into his room on weak legs.  
  
He flopped down on the bed and sent an evil glare towards the now crumpled magazine laying near the trashcan.  
  
That article on edible underware was just too much for Kurt to stomach (Ok, ok bad pun, but I take 'em where I can get 'em!). Generally, Kurt would have just stuck to Remy's instructions just look at the pictures, but after half an hour of just flipping through the pages he got curious-Much to his detriment.  
  
---  
  
In the medical lab Pyro was on his cell phone:  
  
"Really? He said he'd recruit us right after the vows?-No, no, I'm on board if you are, Shi-er-Wanda.-Sounds like a plan and Mags still doesn't know, right?-Great, just checking-What? No, I'm not afraid, why?-CRICKEY HE KNOWS?!-You're just kiddin'? That's not funny!-Stop laughin'-Your sorry? Alright, I never could stay angry with you. I'll see you later. I love you too, bye." John hung up the phone.  
  
Ah, young love. 


	6. Kurt’s Brush with Death!

Chapter 6: Kurt's Brush with Death!  
  
The next morning Hank released Py and a very relaxed Remy from the med lab. Hank figured they were pretty much back to normal, well as normal as any two male mutants their age could be.  
  
"Well boys, don't be strangers," said Hank opening the door.  
  
"Don' worry Hank, wid Remy's track record we prob'ly gonna meet up again sometime soon."  
  
"And that, Mr. LeBeau is exactly what I'm preoccupied about, said Hank as the boys walked into the hall.  
  
When they reached the main hall St. John looked over at Remy and said, "C'mon, mate, I need you to be the look out while I pack."  
  
"Get Petey to do it, homme. Remy's got some unfinished business wid Blue Boy."  
  
"Alright then," said Py, "but be sure to stop by Wanda's later."  
  
"You got it, Py" Gambit assured him.  
  
"Great, see ya later, mate," said John heading for the door.  
  
"See ya," said Gambit as he headed up the main stairwell.  
  
On the second floor Remy began his search for Kurt's room. It didn't take much deduction to realize the floor was split into two sections: boys and girls. Remy took a right instead of the usual left toward Rogue's room.  
  
Gambit soon found himself in uncharted territory, so to speak, as he traipsed down the boys' hall. It wasn't long before he came to a locked door-  
  
Needless to say, Remy, being a thief was unable to pass it up!-Much to his detriment.  
  
Gambit drew his key ring of lock picks and selected the Z249-A model.  
  
Remy crouched down to the lock.  
  
scratch, scratch, scratch-pop!  
  
The lock released and Remy just barely nudged the door open.  
  
Gambit then turned tail and headed for the nearest bathroom when he got an eye full of Jean mounting Scott.  
  
"-cough-cough- Bon, now Remy's gonna have nightmares fo' weeks!" Gambit sighed as he walked out of the bathroom and headed down the hall once again. This time Gambit's luck was greatly improved when he found an open door. And when he looked inside he discovered Kurt laying idly on his bed reading a book.  
  
Kurt looked up when he heard the door close and came face to face with a, still rather pale, Gambit.  
  
"Are you alright, man? Maybe you should go seek Hank." suggested Kurt.  
  
"Non!" Remy answered a little too quickly. "Gambit jus' came ta see if you had anymo' questions before he takes off."  
  
"Oh," said Kurt quietly, "nein, I don't think so."  
  
"Bon," said Remy, his color returning somewhat, "Now get off that bed an' go find yo' fillie!"  
  
"Vat?! I can't just go over zer!" exclaimed Kurt.  
  
Remy froze for a moment, then shook his head "You right, pup, what was Gambit tinkin'?" Remy took out his wallet, opened a hidden compartment and threw a small square package onto the bed next to Kurt.  
  
"Vat's zis?" he picked it up and read, "'Trojan Lubricated'?-Eww, sick man!"  
  
Remy held up a hand, "Trust Gambit on dis one, non?"  
  
"I don't know, generally I draw the line at lube," said Kurt cautiously.  
  
"You wanna do dis don't you?" inquired Remy.  
  
"I guess," said Nightcrawler sheepishly.  
  
"You what?" Remy leaned in to egg Kurt on.  
  
"I guess I vant to," Kurt looked off to the side, taking a sudden interest in a pile of laundry.  
  
"Can't hear you," said Remy leaning forward.  
  
"I want to!"  
  
"You want to what?" asked Remy slyly as he narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Make love to Amanda." Kurt said simply.  
  
"'Make love?' Damn, Homme, what century you be livin' in?" Remy sighed bringing his hand up to his forehead, "C'mon Remy'll give you a lift to de fille's-Amanda was it?-house."  
  
"Uh ja, sure," said Kurt cautiously climbing off the bed.  
  
Remy pulled up to Amanda's house and let Kurt off.  
  
"As soon as you're done in dere come to the BoM's place, got it?"  
  
"Ja, I got it." said Kurt.  
  
VER-RRRRMMMMM!  
  
Remy sped off leaving Kurt coughing in a cloud of exhaust.  
  
Slowly Kurt made his way up the cobblestone walkway to the front door.  
  
He rang the bell.  
  
A moment passed, then the door opened to reveal Amanda sporting jeans and a white t-shirt.  
  
"Hi Amanda, I-WHOA!"  
  
Amanda yanked Kurt into the house and threw the door shut with a-SLAM!  
  
She all but mounted him as they nothing short of wobbled clumsily down the hall. About halfway down Amanda turned the knob on a white door and the pair fell in side the room and on to the floor.  
  
Kurt looked up at Amanda's room and gasped in horror!  
  
The entire room: walls, carpet, bed spread, bed sham (for crying out loud!), curtains, desk, i-book, lamp shades, even the friggin' ceiling-were all in different shades of blue!  
  
Kurt could hardly fathom so many colors of blue even existed!  
  
"Um, Amanda, can I ask you a question?" asked Kurt looking around.  
  
Amanda giggled, "I told you, Silly, blue is my favorite color."  
  
"This must be one of those 'fetishes' Gambit was talking about." Kurt thought to himself, "Now what did Gambit say about situation? Oh right, ''Memba, pup, de fetish isn't necessarily a bad ting-'long as she ain't tryin' to make you wear her clothes-don' ask...'"  
  
For the time being Kurt decided to play along.  
  
They made their way to the bed. Amanda nothing less than threw Kurt down on to the mattress before pouncing on him. She had just unbuttoned his pants when the unthinkable occurred...  
  
A car pulled into the driveway.  
  
"Fucker, their home a day early!" swore Amanda.  
  
"You're parents are home early?!" said Kurt somewhere between bedwetting and a near death experience.  
  
"You have to go!" said Amanda in a hushed voice, "I don't want you to become a throw pillow!"  
  
"Mein gott," said Kurt hoarsely looking toward the door.  
  
"Where will you be later tonight?" whispered Amanda.  
  
"At the Brotherhoods house." said Kurt.  
  
With that having been said...  
  
BAMF!  
  
Later that night Kitty, Colossus, Gambit, Kurt, Amanda, Wanda, St. John, Amara, Bobby, Jamie, Sunspot and Cannonball were all sitting in the living room of the BoM's house anxiously awaiting Rogue's arrival.  
  
The BoM themselves were out having another dinner and a movie night or so everyone present in the living room thought, but we'll come to that point later.  
  
About 15 minutes after they had all assembled Rogue came in the door. All conversation died down and everyone was focused on her.  
  
There was a pause. The room seemed as though it were in suspended animation.  
  
Finally Kitty had had enough, "Like enough with the suspense Rogue! Where's the wedding?!"  
  
"Da," said Piotr, "we all want to know."  
  
Rogue smirked at Wanda's somewhat pensive expression, "Don't worry Wanda if ya don't liake the place you can fry Remy, it was his ideah."  
  
"Gee tanks, Cher," said Remy sarcastically crossing his arms.  
  
"Well, where are we going already?" asked Amanda.  
  
"To a hotel," said Rogue.  
  
"Vell, zat's great, Sis, but vere is it?" asked Kurt growing impatient.  
  
"Out with it already, Girl!" said St. John who was about to bust from the suspense.  
  
Rogue smiled and held up a multicolored pamphlet depicting a glass Pyramid, Roman Architecture, l ion statues, a horseshoe and Lady Liberty herself, "Gahys, were goin' ta Vegas!  
  
Fin  
  
Next story up: Viva Las Vega 


End file.
